


Heisman

by patchfire, raving_liberal



Series: Story of Three Boys [100]
Category: College Football RPF, Glee
Genre: Awards, College Football, M/M, OT3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-08
Updated: 2013-01-08
Packaged: 2017-11-24 04:23:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/630362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patchfire/pseuds/patchfire, https://archiveofourown.org/users/raving_liberal/pseuds/raving_liberal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pressure building and building a life in New York City; an aptly named bath bomb as 2016 approaches.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heisman

Spring semester of Noah’s sophomore year at Mannes, he signs up for the NYGFL. It’s more fun than even he anticipated to get back on the field. Kurt comes to most of the games, and Noah sort of wants to kick himself for not signing up earlier. Just because he wasn’t one to play NCAA football doesn’t mean he can’t play at all, and hell, Kurt even said that back during senior year. Noah tries to get Kurt to sign up as a kicker, but Kurt just laughs and shakes his head. 

They’re halfway through that first spring season when Duncan starts talking about why there aren’t any gay football players in the NCAA or NFL. Before he can help himself, Noah laughs. 

“What’s funny, Puckerman?”

“Dude, there’s gay football players, they just aren’t _out_.”

“Are you talking about crap like that blind item Perez ran last fall? That was a shitty thing to do,” Michael says. “And one rumor doesn’t mean there’s _really_ gay football players currently playing. Statistics, sure, but.”

“Nah, I know there are,” Noah shrugs. “I’m not going to out anybody, but yeah. Statistics bears us out. There’s definitely gay players.”

“Oh, wait.” Duncan grins. “Are you speaking from personal experience?”

Noah winces and then makes a face, shaking his head. It’s not a lie, either; Finn’s not _gay_ , though he isn’t exactly straight, and that’s his one and only ‘personal experience’ with NCAA players. “Nah. But I went to high school with a guy.” Noah shrugs. “He’s not officially out, wasn’t in high school either, but. He _is_ gay.”

“Was it the one that blind item was about?” Duncan says, rolling his eyes at Michael’s disapproving look. 

“Nope,” Noah says casually, because it’s true, whatever else most of the world tends to think. The blind item wasn’t about Dave Karofsky. 

 

There’s really only one thing about life in New York that irritates Kurt, even though he knows it’s a bit ridiculous. People always assume that he and Noah are only there for college, or even if it’s acknowledged that that the two of them might stay or will stay, it’s couched in an attitude of first, they came for college, and then decided to stay.

No. Kurt came to New York to be in New York. He knows Noah feels the same way. Even if they are forever only ‘aspiring’, at least they are ‘aspiring’ _in New York_. Something about Noah joining the NYGFL makes Kurt feel more settled, in a way that their New York drivers’ licenses and permanent address didn’t.

August stretches in front of Kurt, long and hot, and the days drag in a combination of heat and work.

“Let’s audition,” Kurt says one night late in August, the two of them stretched out, naked, in the bed, fan running on high.

“Audition for what?” Noah asks, his hand limp against Kurt’s chest.

“The New York City Gay Men’s Chorus,” Kurt recites. “Which is quite a mouthful. But neither of us are going to be in chorus this year, and I know I probably should be tired of singing after classes—”

“—but we haven’t _just_ performed in a while,” Noah finishes. His head nods slightly, his hair brushing against Kurt’s shoulder, and Kurt runs his hand through the short curls.

“Exactly.” Kurt smiles and closes his eyes, letting the calm wash over him. They still miss Finn desperately whenever he’s not with them, but things aren’t quite so out of balance when it’s just the two of them. Kurt hates the package deal, as Finn called it, but he knows it’s saved them – all three of them, probably, because if he and Noah hadn’t made it, what could they have salvaged with Finn?

“Okay. What do we have to do?” Noah asks. “Just sing a song?”

“Vocal exercises to determine range, one minute of a song, and...” Kurt pauses, thinking. “Oh, right. A check of music-reading skills.”

Noah laughs. “I think we’ll manage that okay. What kind of song?”

“Any kind. You can’t accompany yourself, though, apparently.”

“Well, that sucks,” Noah says succinctly. “But yeah, that sounds simple enough. Might be kind of fun, too.”

“Yes. And we won’t be graded on it,” Kurt adds with a giggle.

“A very good point.” Noah shifts, his left leg sliding between Kurt’s legs. “I’m in favor of things that don’t get graded or affect a paycheck.”

 

After Finn leaves for Madison before their junior year, Noah takes a hard look at his class schedule for the coming year. He calls up a copy of Kurt's for the fall semester, guessing that it'll be similar in the spring, and comes to a quick realization. Their schedules don't match up very well, and there's no good reason for him not to apply for the part-time shift supervisor slot that just opened up. His manager in New York has been willing to work around his schedule just as much as Ms. Horatio, and given how many college and graduate students he employs, Noah's ability to present his schedule for the entire year has always been a bonus and helped Noah get better hours. It's a little bit of a raise and no matter what they do after undergrad's over, they can use Noah's access to the benefits, so he and Kurt talk about it for thirty minutes or so, and the next day, Noah adds his name to the very short list of people applying for the position. 

Three days before classes start, Noah gets the promotion and a raise, which he definitely doesn’t say no to. He still doesn't bring in nearly as much an hour as Kurt can, but the benefits almost balance it out, and Kurt doesn't have as many hours available to work, not with his required daily dance lab and weekly private voice lessons on top of classes and the cross-town commute. In theory, Kurt knows just as much about their budget as Noah does, but in reality, Kurt tunes it out or doesn't comprehend half of it. They actually overdrew the account four times their first year in New York, both of them using their debit cards and thinking the money was there. Now they both tend to use cash, keeping the debit cards at home, though Kurt carries his dad's credit card in case of emergencies. 

Most emergencies tend to be either clothing-related or related to one of three girls under age twelve that they're related to, actually, but since Burt doesn't complain about it, Noah figures that might be exactly the kind of emergency that Burt had in mind. 

Noah has a meeting with Tcimpidis on the first day of classes for the fall semester, talking about what they're going to cover in his weekly sessions that year but also what he's supposed to be covering in the rest of his classes. He's not really looking forward to another year of music history, even if it is the most interesting history class he's ever taken. The truth is, he's coming to the terminal classes in almost all of his Techniques of Music classes, which makes it a 'very important year' or something. Tcimpidis talks a lot about the concerts in the spring, and how they'd like to do one of the concerts with just works from Noah, Allison, and Ben, as the junior composition majors, in addition to the concert that they'll do the following spring as seniors. It sounds like a lot of work, but not hard work—except for the history of music class and twentieth century theory—and Noah leaves the meeting feeling pretty good about the coming year, even if it will be a little different. 

The final thing that they change in August isn't really so much of a change as a possible addition. Noah and Kurt send their names in to register for the open auditions in early September for the New York City Gay Men's Chorus. 

"So I have the Gay Men's Chorus and the Gay Football League," Noah says over dinner later. "I think we should tell Finn to tell Syd, assuming we get in. She'd be very impressed."

Kurt laughs. "Yes. Don't forget you work in a coffee shop."

"Hey, just because I happen to be a type," Noah says wryly. 

"Everyone's some kind of type, right?"

 

Kurt spends a week trying to decide on his audition song; Noah takes two days to pick a song, then spends the rest of the time before the auditions complaining about not being able to just accompany himself.

“You could ask, I suppose,” Kurt suggests the night before. “Take your guitar and see what they say.”

“It can’t hurt,” Noah decides, which surprises Kurt not at all. Noah nearly always has his backpack and his guitar, if not an additional ‘stray’ instrument besides, and Kurt thinks it’s possible that Noah would have felt naked without his guitar going along with them.

It doesn’t occur to Kurt until they’re waiting for their turns that they are possibly the youngest people auditioning. It’s a fair cross-section of the city, really, and Noah goes in first, still toting guitar and backpack. Kurt wonders if they’ll let him play guitar for himself, and slides closer to the door until he can at least make out Noah’s voice.

_I am the entertainer_  
The idol of my age  
I make all kinds of money  
When I go on the stage  
Ah, you've seen me in the papers  
I've been in the magazines  
But if I go cold I won't get sold  
I'll get put in the back in the discount rack  
Like another can of beans 

The process takes a little over five minutes in total before Noah re-emerges, smirking when he catches Kurt’s eye and nodding towards the guitar case in his hand. Kurt shakes his head, grinning, and heads into the room with his own sheet music, which he gives to the accompanist.

“Kurt Hummel. How would you describe your range?”

“I’ve been singing primarily tenor parts for the past two years, but I’m truly a countertenor.”

“Countertenor. Interesting.” The process is more or less as described on their website, with them having Kurt run through a few range exercises before singing from his selection.

_I'm not afraid of stopping, this end could be my start._  
I wanna live a life and not just play a part.  
I'll walk into the sunset, I'll sail across the sea,  
the final word the last you'll hear of me, Of me… 

_Is goodbye._

“From _Catch Me If You Can_ , correct?”

“Yes.”

“Your singing experience?”

“I’m a student at Marymount Manhattan in their musical theatre program. I was in show choir for three years in high school, including a twelfth place and first place finish at Nationals.”

One of them looks towards the door, and Kurt laughs. “Yes, Noah was too.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Fiancé.”

“Ah.” He nods with a slight smile. “If you’re at Marymount Manhattan, I’m assuming you can read music, but it’s just a formality.”

Kurt nods and goes through the exercise with them, then thanks them for their time before leaving.

“Want to get some dinner down here?” Kurt asks as he steps beside Noah, putting his arm around Noah’s waist.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Noah agrees. “There’s a place called A Salt & Battery near here.”

“That’s… clever,” Kurt settles on. “What kind of food?”

“Fish n’ chips.”

Kurt shrugs. “Let’s try it.”

Kurt isn’t surprised that both of them are accepted, and as they add that to the rest of their schedules and get to know a few people, Kurt lets himself think that it’s another step closer to just being in New York, even being _from_ New York. Even on his worst days, he’d rather live in a tiny apartment fixing cars for years in New York than be doing just about anything else in a different city.

 

The guys on his GFL team are—possibly justifiably—annoyed sometimes with Noah during the fall season. He suddenly can't practice on Monday nights, once the Chorus rehearsals start, and then he misses a few other games and practices without much explanation. He can't even particularly blame them, since he is so vague about where he's going and why. Noah can't remember exactly when they started doing it, and he definitely can't put a finger on why, but he and Kurt stopped announcing that 'their brother' is actually Bluebird Hudson, the same one who starts for the Badgers and had a whole feature about him in _Sports Illustrated_. Their closest friends know, and the guys at Mad River, of course, but even there, the regulars have stopped informing the visitors automatically, like they once did. No one outside a small circle has a clue. 

There's a piece about Kurt and Noah on the Advocate's blog that gets picked up by GLAAD and then goes viral, and they laugh and mostly ignore it. It doesn't take a genius to realize that someone in the Wisconsin Athletics Department thought they smelled a bit of good publicity, both for the team and for University of Wisconsin overall. Luckily the piece didn't list their names or include any pictures; the anonymity suits them just fine. 

But over the course of the season, they fly to Wisconsin twice, and to more than a few of the away games. It's enough for the others to notice, and near the end of the season, Duncan, the nosy snot, asks him where he goes. 

"Best friend plays NCAA ball," Noah answers. “K and I try to go to some of his games."

"Anyone interesting?"

"Nah." Noah grins and shakes his head. Duncan doesn't follow Big Ten college football, so Finn's probably not interesting to him. Considering the frequency that Noah's been gone, too, they probably figure it's someone at a school closer to New York.

They're practicing for the playoffs when a few of the guys start flipping out a bit. "Michael, I know you hate gossip, but even you can't be all down on this," Duncan says. "Did you see that kiss at the Georgia Tech game?"

Noah laughs before Michael can respond, and they turn to look at him. "What?" Michael asks. 

"Just, it took ’em long enough."

"Long enough?" Duncan repeats. 

"Casey and Karofsky have been dancing around each other for—" Noah stops to think. "Three years now, I guess." He shakes his head. "But I bet they didn't plan to be caught on camera once they finally got it together."

There's a few laughs at that, and Duncan lets out one long whistle. They all go to get a burger after practice, Kurt and a few of the other guys' partners joining them, and Noah starts to wish he'd kept his mouth shut about knowing Karofsky. The guys start trying to interrogate Kurt and him, and the only question they answer is the one about if Karofsky is the friend whose games they go to. That, they can answer in the negative.

 

“I’m not very optimistic,” Kurt says to Zachary in December when they announce the mainstage musical for the spring semester is going to be _Little Shop of Horrors_. Everyone is more optimistic than Kurt, actually, and he goes through the audition process with his best effort and plenty of encouragement. He’s unsurprised when the cast list is posted without his name, though; none of the parts in the show were even listed as for a tenor, and he knows he’s been lucky to have the roles that he has had.

He stares at the lists of workshops that semester, absently twisting his wedding band, knowing that the time is coming, soon, when he has to make a decision. He’s been able to postpone it at Marymount Manhattan, thanks to his AP and dual-enrollment credits as well as their having concentrations for both performing and writing for the stage. There’s no way to continue with both, though, not after graduation. It’s either grad school or trying to get roles, and with grad school, there’s no way to continue combining both writing and performing.

He can, realistically, try to keep up his skills in one while going to school for the other. Performing in school and writing when he can, or writing for school and continuing voice and dance lessons. That’s the only possible form of balance Kurt can see, and if he’s entirely honest, the idea of throwing everything into performing scares him. He knows he’s not what shows are looking for in terms of major roles. There’s a very good musical theatre program at Steinhardt, and even if Kurt can get admitted, it’s no guarantee of future employment, after possibly—likely—going into a significant amount of debt.

There’s no guarantee of being successful at writing musicals, either, Kurt knows, but the graduate program for writing musicals is more selective at the front, accepting just twenty-four students spread across composers, lyricists, bookwriters, and combinations thereof. Kurt is also confident it would be easier to take voice lessons and dance classes than to find a scheduled, regular way to keep writing. Maybe it’s not the best way to decide, Kurt thinks, staring at the notice board, alone in the hallway, but when he imagines the future, he knows a Tony for Best Leading Actor isn’t there. A nomination for Best Book, though – at least it seems like a thread of a possibility.

 

Spring season practice starts at the end of February, which means they all practice bundled up, including gloves, and it's mid-March before they finally get warm enough to take off their gloves. They're taking a breather halfway through when Duncan grabs Noah's hand. 

"What's this?"

“You can’t tell?” Noah snorts. “Thought you were some kind of genius. Isn’t that what you like to tell us? Genius stockbroker?”

Noah hates to generalize, but he’s pretty sure he doesn’t like stockbrokers, period. 

“You went and got hitched? And didn’t invite us?”

"I knew," Christopher says. "As the manager, I got the paperwork for this season."

"It was a small wedding," Noah says to Duncan. "But no more Puckerman, which is why Christopher knew."

"Seriously?" Levi says. "You changed your name?"

"Didn't have a reason to keep the Puckerman," Noah says casually. The truth is, he's more than glad to have seen the last of it. 'Puck' is acceptable; there's no reason to keep around a last name that only serves to remind him of the idiot that provided some DNA, however.

"Huh." Duncan nods slowly. "Bet you just wanted to move higher on the roster. You were tired of being lower on the roster than me, and Hummel comes before Jamieson. That how it is?"

"Sure," Noah says with a nod, smirking. "That's right."

 

“Is that… did I miss an assignment?” Victoria asks with a little laugh.

“What? Oh, no. I’m just working on the one-act we’re going to submit with our applications,” Kurt says, gesturing towards the pile beside him before returning his pencil to the score in front of him. “Revising the lyrics. Noah made a few changes in this melody.”

“Oh, right.” Victoria nods and sinks into a seat three down. “When it’s due again?”

“Not until February, but we’re trying to finish it by Thanksgiving. So much travelling in December, and Finn will be here in January, of course.”

“Of course,” Victoria says, grinning. Kurt rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out at her, then grins right back. 

“We have important traveling before December, too,” Kurt says loftily. “Illinois this week, OSU in three weeks.”

“Right.” Victoria giggles.

“What’s due in February?” Clint asks, and Kurt rolls his eyes, starting to put everything away. “Someone having a baby?”

“Graduate school applications,” Kurt says coolly, wishing not for the first time that Clint wasn’t in their year. 

“Oh, yeah, I’m still trying to decide. Steinhardt or auditioning.” Clint looks smug. “I have some great material for Steinhardt. Is that where you’re applying?”

“No, this is for Tisch.”

“Tisch doesn’t have a musical theatre graduate program.”

Professor Lassiter sits down in front of them. “Tisch actually has a graduate musical theatre writing program, Clint, a fact that you would do well to remember. Someone has to write the material to showcase us as performers,” she says with a wide smile.

“Then why’s Hummel applying to Tisch?” Clint asks, jerking his thumb towards Kurt.

“Because I’m applying to said musical theatre writing program,” Kurt answers, feeling his jaw tighten.

“Really, Kurt?” Professor Lassiter says, sounding surprised. “You’re giving up on performing so easily?”

“Well, that’s—” Clint starts to say before Kurt cuts him off.

“I’ll continue to keep up my skills,” Kurt says. “But no, I’m not going to focus on performing at the graduate level.”

“That’s a disappointing fact to hear,” Lassiter says, and Kurt tries not to roll his eyes at her tone. He knew when he made the decision that he was going to get some flack for it, but he had hoped to delay it until the spring semester. If he’s completely honest, he had hoped to make it until past the time when Tisch sent out their decisions. That way, if the answer was no, he could have just acted like the plan all along had been to audition for roles and skip graduate school.

“Only because you haven’t heard any of what he’s written,” Victoria says, her smile a little sharp, and Kurt presses his lips together. No one expects the snark behind her southern accent, and consequently, most people rarely pick up on it. 

“Heeyyy there Kurt, and hey there gorgeous,” Zachary says.

“Zachary,” Kurt says with a nod, reaching into his bag and fishing out a few of the mini black and whites he’d had Noah pick up at Zabar’s, and then he offers them to Zachary.

“Excellent!” Zachary says, accepting the cookies. “Do you want the news now, sir, or later?”

“Now, please,” Kurt says, not bothering to hide his relief. “Anything from our favorite site?”

“A certain soprano understudy of a popular new show was caught in flagrante with the husband of the show’s choreographer,” Zachary offers, cramming a cookie into his mouth. “Which wouldn’t be quite the scandal it is if… can you guess?”

“The choreographer… wasn’t gay?” Kurt guesses, amused.

“Exactly, sir!”

 

When the fall season of the GFL starts back up, Noah's in and out of practice and games again. There's a few new guys on the team, and one of them finally asks in November, but Michael answers for him. 

"Noah's got a buddy playing college ball; he and Kurt head to the games when they can."

"Technically he's my brother-in-law," Noah interjects with a grin, just for the fun of it. 

"Yeah? Kurt's brother?" 

"Yep."

"Hmm." Levi looks seriously thoughtful, standing still and staring up into a tree. "Hummel. Hummel. I'll figure out which team. FBS or FCS?"

"FBS, and sure. You do that," Noah says with a smirk. 

The rest of the NCAA season passes without incident; Noah and Kurt fly out to Wisconsin to watch the game against Penn State, two days after Thanksgiving, and a week later, to Indianapolis for the Big 10 championship game. The next Saturday is the first time Noah's made it to practice since before Thanksgiving, thanks to finals approaching and a three-day stint of rain and sleet. They practice for about an hour, and Noah feels like he's checking his phone every fifteen seconds. Rationally, the announcement's not coming yet, and there's no need to obsessively check, but he does it anyway. 

The announcement will come in the evening, while Burt and Carole sit in Finn's two allotted guest spots, and Noah and Kurt are at Mad River, watching the events unfold in Times Square via television. It doesn't stop Noah from checking repeatedly, though, especially as they take a break and then start another hour of practice. When it's finally too dark to play any more, Michael suggests they all get dinner. 

“Best party in Manhattan’s going to be over at Mad River,” Noah puts in, without really thinking about it. “At least, that’s the plan.”

“Mad River?” Levi asks.

"Over on Third," Noah answers. "C'mon, you'll see." Noah convinces most of them to walk, because finding the right bus for that short of a distance is a pain in the ass, and he at least doesn't want to pay for a taxi, not when he and Kurt will be paying for one later. 

When Noah walks into Mad River, it’s living up to the first part of its name, in that it’s a mad _house_ , and Noah walks over to Kurt at the bar, wrapping his arms around him and then giving him a kiss when Kurt turns around. “Hi.” Kurt grins. “Ooh, you brought your team.”

“They wanted a dinner, I promised them a celebratory atmosphere.”

“We hope!”

"So. This is the Badger headquarters." Duncan looks around. "Your brother-in-law plays for Wisconsin? They've got Hudson up for the Heisman."

"Right." Kurt and Noah exchange a smirk.

"Is your brother good friends with Hudson?" Levi asks Kurt.

Kurt tilts his head and grins. “You could say that. But it’s hard to be friends with oneself, really.”

“Hudson’s your brother?” Duncan stares at them. “But. You’re Hummels.”

“Step-brother, technically.” Kurt shrugs. “I’m also only five months older, which would be difficult if we were biological siblings.”

"Noah, you never said!" Levi protests. "It's been, what, two years?"

Noah shrugs. "It's not something we usually spread around."

"So _you're_ the brothers," Michael says with a laugh. "From that Advocate piece. I always figured it was some kind of publicity stunt, but I guess you do disappear often enough."

“Yep, that’s us.” Noah grins. “We’re a Thing.”

“That makes it sound almost disreputable,” Kurt muses, side-eyeing Noah with a little smirk. 

Noah grins and nods. “It does a bit.”

“It’s starting!” someone yells, and the entire bar quiets down. The Heisman logo flies across the screen, and Noah sits down next to Kurt, their fingers wrapping around each other, while they wait for the actual announcement. 

There’s far too much filler for Noah’s taste; there’s a five-minute talk on what the Heisman is, followed by a retrospective of past winners, and then finally they introduce the finalists. There’s three other guys up there sitting beside Finn, and Kurt smirks to himself.

“If they count best-dressed, then Finn’s a shoo-in. Look at that tie on the one from Alabama. It’s atrocious. And the one from Nebraska, I swear his jacket and his pants are _different shades_ of navy.”

Noah laughs. “And the one from Oregon? Wait, don’t tell me.” He studies the screen for a moment. “He needs a haircut. Not to mention he should have gone with a white shirt.”

“Exactly. A dark-colored shirt under a black suit is seemingly fashion-forward, but for an event like this, he should have gone with a classic combination.”

There’s a little video about each the finalists, and Finn’s goes last, because Wisconsin is at the bottom of the alphabet. After that, the bar goes completely silent and the head of the Heisman Trust or whatever gets up to the podium. It takes about a minute and a half before he finally says. “And the winner of the eighty-first Heisman trophy, for the year 2015 is…”

He pauses very dramatically, which gives Noah enough time to think about what all of this means. Of course they want Finn to win, because they want him to be recognized for doing well, and they're proud of him, but there's so much pressure on him to enter the draft. It started at the beginning of the season; the announcement of being a Heisman finalist only increased it; Noah can't imagine how much there will be if he does win the Heisman. 

Everyone, it seems, wants Finn to enter the draft and play professionally, at least for a few years; everyone except Kurt and Noah, who just want him home. 

“…Finn Hudson of the University of Wisconsin!”

“Holy shit. Holy shit!” Kurt exclaims, jumping up, pulling Noah with him. “Holy fucking shit!”

Noah laughs as they hug each other, still staring at the screen, where Finn looks stunned as he exchanges congratulatory hugs with the other finalists, then Burt and Carole before finally climbing to the podium. He rests his hands on the edges of the podium and shakes his head, not looking any less stunned as he looks out at the crowd.

“Well,” Finn says, his eyes widening a little in apparent disbelief. “Gosh!”

The crowd at the announcement laughs, and most of the people stuffed into Mad River chuckle, too, though Mad River shuts up a lot faster.

“I didn’t make any index cards, because I always lose them,” Finn continues after a moment. 

“It’s true,” Kurt says, and Noah grins, suppressing a laugh. The crowd in Times Square laughs; most of Mad River doesn’t. Noah smirks; the regulars learned their lesson after someone commented on their perception of Finn’s intelligence in Kurt’s hearing, junior year.

“First, I’d like to thank my family – my mom and my stepdad; my brothers, who trekked all over the country to watch me play ball; my little sister Audrey, who’s probably watching me on TV. Hi, Aud!” Finn pauses to wave once, before he continues listing off names, occasionally glancing upward like he’s trying to remember what he should be saying. “Coach Meredith; Coach Clyde; the rest of the coaching staff; my offensive line, for keeping me off my butt; the rest of the team, who have been the best group of guys anybody could hope to play football with; my friend Syd and the rest of the Elevens, who have been some of my biggest supporters from the very beginning…” There’s a little bit of a murmur from the screen, but no one at Mad River looks surprised. 

Kurt and Noah accept beers from Winston, who looks like he’s ready to bust with joy, and the bar chatters around them. At first people keep coming up to them, clapping them on the back and congratulating them or asking them to pass on congratulations to Finn, but by the time they finish their beers, they’re more or less ignored, and Noah looks at Kurt then the door. 

“Ready to escape?” Noah jokes. 

“Yes,” Kurt says. “And we have Finn’s second key. It was nice of the Heisman Trust to pay for a weekend at the Millennium Broadway.”

“And clever of Finn to play up his fear of heights so we’re not on the same floor as the rest of them,” Noah says wryly. “How long you think they’ll be interviewing him?”

“Hmm, it’s already been half an hour,” Kurt says as they leave Mad River and hail a cab. “Probably another hour or two.”

They get to the hotel quickly and smile at the hotel employees as they walk to the elevator before letting themselves into Finn’s room. They order room service, charging it to the room, and then settle on the bed to wait for Finn.

It’s at least another two hours before they hear footsteps approaching and the click of Finn’s card in the lock. The door swings open, and then there’s Finn, his suit slightly rumpled and a huge, if exhausted, smile on his face.

“Hey, you guys! I won!”

Noah laughs and Kurt bends over, shaking, though his laughter isn’t audible. “We noticed,” Noah says. 

“I probably should have prepared a speech or something,” Finn says. “I figured I’d just lose it, though, so I didn’t. I think it turned out ok.”

“You thanked the four most important people,” Kurt says, straightening. “So I think you did fine. Come _here_.”

Finn closes the door and walks to the bed, his grin widening. “Here I am!”

“Closer,” Noah says, grinning. “Oh, we ordered room service in your name. Want some desserts?”

“They’re not all chocolate, even,” Kurt adds. “There’s also some bottled water and a few bottles of beer.”

Finn falls face-first onto the bed, and with his face against the coverlet, mumbles, “Beer’s good. Suit off’s better.”

“Then let’s get you out of the suit and then we’ll see about the beer,” Kurt decides, and he starts to pull at Finn’s coat. Noah laughs but helps, and after a few moments, they pause. “Arm, Finn,” Kurt says, and Finn lifts his arm just enough for them to get his arm free of the sleeve. It takes a little longer than it would if Finn were assisting, but soon enough, Finn’s naked, and the two of them discard the rest of their clothes. 

Noah grabs three beers, opens them, and brings them back to the bed, he and Kurt on either side of Finn. “Better, darling?” Noah asks.

“I’m so tired. I didn’t know interviews would make me so tired,” Finn says, taking the beer from Noah and drinking a large swallow of it. “It’s more tiring to be interviewed about football than it is playing football. I thought it was bad back when Jensen got appendicitis, but this was _really_ tiring.”

“Poor darling,” Kurt says, still grinning. “We’re supposed to be passing on all sorts of congratulations, but I suppose first _we_ should tell you congratulations. So. Congratulations, darling.”

Noah smirks. “Yeah, congratulations asshole.”

“You’re the asshole, asshole,” Finn says. “I would’ve thanked you guys first, but you’re supposed to thank God and your mom first, so I figured I’d better at least go with one of those.”

“Oh yeah, I already started looking for commentary.” Noah grins. “You’re a horrible atheist, according to one site. Most of the other sites just think you were ‘overwhelmed’, at least so far. Oh, and uh.” Noah starts to laugh. “Guess who else you didn’t thank?”

“Jesus?” Finn asks. “I think they usually thank God and sometimes Jesus.”

“Someone more corporeal,” Kurt says with a wry grin. “Your ‘girlfriend’,” Kurt finishes, making quotes with his fingers.

“But, Rachel’s not in the army,” Finn says, scrunching up his eyebrows. “Oh. _Oh_ , shit. I didn’t thank Rachel. Shit, is that, like, _bad_ or whatever, do you think?”

“Already put Zachary to work,” Noah says, still laughing. “You were probably just so overwhelmed. Kurt sent Rachel and Zachary both a message, so in the morning Zachary’s going to post that he thinks he saw the two of you at a club celebrating, but it was dark.”

“So dark he couldn’t actually see me at all,” Finn agrees. “Zachary is awesome.”

“Co-conspirator,” Noah agrees. “A few sour grapes from some Oregon fans. Just like the Pac–12. Nah, not really. Worse from Alabama.”

“SEC’s a bunch of sore losers anyway,” Finn says, tipping up his beer and emptying the bottle in three fast swallows. 

“You want one more? We got two for each of us,” Noah says, nodding at the empty beer bottle.

“Luckily no one associates this room with the Heisman party at all,” Kurt says thoughtfully. “Did I mention yet how clever that was?”

“Yep, but you can mention it some more if you want to. I won’t complain,” Finn says. “And yep, one more is good.”

Noah opens all three of the remaining beers and distributes them, then curls back up against Finn’s side. “We switched shifts tomorrow,” he informs Finn. “And we stole your itinerary, so we know you don’t have to be anywhere until 12:30, which is a dumb time for something called ‘brunch’.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll call room service again well before that,” Kurt says. “Breakfast in bed sound good, darling?”

“Mmm,” Finn murmurs, putting his arms around them, bottle still in hand. “Everything in bed sounds good.”

“Did we say anything about leaving this bed between now and your ‘brunch’?” Kurt asks. “Aside from the trip to answer the door for room service, that is.”

“The answer to that’s no, in case you needed a hint,” Noah offers.

“Doesn’t this room have a tub?” Finn asks. “It has a really, really big tub.”

“Okay,” Noah amends. “Bed and tub and nowhere else. Better?”

“Perfect,” Finn says, moving his arm from around Noah long enough to drink a sip of his beer. “Now I’m getting in the tub.” He starts to sit up, then lies back against the bed again. “I might need a push-start.”

“K could move and we could roll you off?” Noah suggests innocently.

“Now, now,” Kurt says, snickering. “That’s no way to treat the Heisman winner.”

“I am the winner,” Finn says, nodding his head. “Just give me a little shove or whatever. The bathroom seems really far away.”

Kurt raises an eyebrow, and Noah nods, so they each grab one of Finn’s hands and start to tug him upwards. “Like this?” Noah asks.

Finn sits up again and lets himself be pulled up onto his feet, actually doing most of the work himself after his feet hit the floor. “I should have gotten some of those bath bombs,” he says, as he starts to walk to the bathroom, not letting go of Noah and Kurt’s hands. “That would have been awesome.”

“Oh, well,” Noah says, picking up his backpack and rummaging in it for a second. “If you’d lost, now, you wouldn’t get this one, because the name wouldn’t apply.” He hands it to Finn with a smirk and sets the backpack down.

“‘Golden Wonder’,” Kurt explains, also smirking.

“That’s me, alright,” Finn agrees. “The Golden Wonder. I’m golden. Also wonderful.”

Kurt laughs. “Well, we like you.”

“Good thing, too, or I’d be really confused about what you’re doing in my hotel room,” Finn says.

“It’s a new service the city’s trying out?” Noah jokes. “Random people showing up in hotel rooms. You don’t think it’d catch on?”

“New York is a friendly city,” Finn says. He turns on the water to the tub, then tosses the bath bomb into the water. “Anybody coming in with me?”

“We could be persuaded,” Kurt agrees. “As soon as I go turn the heat up a little higher.”

“Lizard,” Noah and Finn say together.

Kurt smirks. “I was born this way.”

 

Kurt squints at the sunlight falling through the curtains and directly into his eyes, then shakes his head and carefully slides out of bed, pulling the curtain firmly shut before shuffling to the bathroom. 

He can tell immediately that Noah's been awake; he probably woke up around the time he would to go in to work. The bathroom's been tidied, and when Kurt leaves the bathroom, he can see just enough to confirm that the main room is considerably neater, too. Finn's suit is hanging up, everyone's laundry is bagged, and all of the trash is actually in a trash can. Sometimes, Noah cleans up just because a certain amount of mess gets on both their nerves, but sometimes he cleans instead of or just after taking a Xanax, and Kurt can't help but wonder if this is one of the latter times.

His boys are sleeping deeply. Kurt stands beside the bed, watching them in the dim light. He wants to reach out and touch them, run his hands through Noah's curls and down Finn's chest, but they're still sleeping, and for a minute he can pretend. He can pretend that time isn't short, that Finn isn't getting back on a plane the next day, that this is a sight he can see every morning.

Kurt considers trying to fall back asleep, curling up in the bed with them again, but then remembers that there should be a newspaper outside the door, and more available in the lobby. He quietly pulls on a pair of sweatpants that are Noah's, since Finn's would fall off, and then a T-shirt that could, in fact, be Finn's, before pulling on his shoes, grabbing one of the room keys, and heading out.

He picks up three different newspapers and a cup of coffee, heading back to the room quickly. Noah and Finn are still asleep, curled towards each other now, and Kurt feels an ache in his chest. The package deal chafes more and more the longer it goes on and the closer they get to the end of it. Part of him wants nothing more than to slip back out, to treat himself to breakfast downstairs while they stay in the room.

Kurt climbs back into bed instead, the lamp on a low setting, and he starts to page through the newspapers, looking for articles about the Heisman. There are several, of course, and Kurt skims the headlines first before returning to read in-depth. 

Someone apparently asked Finn what he liked about Wisconsin, which elicited the enthusiastic answer of "I love the school, the people, the team, I love everything about Madison," and Kurt smiles. The next question was apparently about the fact that he specifically thanked the Elevens, because there's another quote: "Anybody who had fans like the Elevens would thank them."

It's when the article's attention turns to the draft that Kurt starts to read more carefully. Of course Finn was asked if the Heisman win changed his view towards entering the draft; he was asked the same question about being named a Heisman finalist, and earlier in the season, about his name being mentioned for the Heisman. Finn's answer looks like Kurt would expect, more or less: "Well, of course it means I'm going to give it some consideration."

The article's interpretation of it, however, is not. Kurt hurriedly reaches for the other two in-depth profiles, skimming them, until he can find their NFL draft commentary, and despite Finn's seemingly non-committal answer, all of the media seems confident in saying that they think Finn's entry into the draft is ‘highly likely’.

There's a quote from Finn, of course, answering the question of what NFL team he would play for if he could hand-pick a franchise, and Kurt smothers a laugh at the reference to Burt's loyalties.

> "Well, my stepdad would probably want me to play for the Browns," Hudson said, and the press room predictably laughed before Hudson continued. "I guess I'd want a team where I could do some good." When Hudson's stepdad, Burt Hummel, was asked to confirm that, he replied, "The Browns would be my first choice, but we just want him on the team that's the best fit for him."
> 
> Further interviews with family members and coaching staff at Wisconsin suggest that Hudson may be closer to a decision than his public statements appear; everyone will certainly be keeping an eye on the rosters for the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine in Indianapolis in February. 

Kurt sighs and carefully refolds the newspaper, then slips back out of bed. He puts the newspapers in his bag, where neither Noah nor Finn will notice them, and after a few moments, tucks away their iPads and phones as well. There's no need to talk about it _this_ morning. They have four hours together, four hours during which no one will be looking for them, and the problem of the draft and what it could mean – that's a problem Kurt will shove aside for another day. 


End file.
